Recommendations by Sector
AGRICULTURAL (FARMING AND RANCHING)
Energy Use
Ranches and farms use large quantities of electric energy for pumping
liquids, moving air, and for controlling the temperatures of animals and
products such as meat and milk. In many cases, substantial savings are available
by incorporating modern control techniques and technologies into operations on
the ranch or farm.
Measures that are frequently found to be cost-effective include the
following:
Irrigation
Water and electricity are both precious commodities in Colorado and some
conservation methods contribute to saving both.
- Use large diameter pipes (e.g., 12-inch rather than 10-inch) to reduce
friction.
- Convert from high-pressure top impact sprinklers to low-pressure systems.
If using a low-pressure system, adjust spray heads and patterns to match crop
growth.
- Match motors to pumps carefully; over-sizing wastes money and energy.
- Use premium-efficiency motors. They save energy, run cooler, and last
longer.
- Use variable-frequency drives with pump motors to facilitate optimizing
efficiency with changing irrigation flow requirements.
- Repair and replace nozzles and regulators to achieve even crop growth and
save energy and water.
Overall
- White surfaces on the insides of barns and chicken coops reflect light and
lessen the need for electric lighting. The result is an improved visual
environment for both people and animals - and lower lighting bills for the
farmer.
- Install compact fluorescent bulbs in place of incandescents.
- Replace fluorescent fixtures using T-12 lamps with T-8 or T-5 fixtures and
electronic ballasts.
- Use simple timers or similar lighting controls that may be over-ridden
when necessary.
- Install ventilation fans with high-efficiency, long-lasting cast-aluminum
blades.
- Use premium-efficiency motors on all systems that run more than 30 minutes
per day.
- Install CO2 sensors to control ventilation fans and maintain good air
quality.
Dairy
- Cooling milk quickly after milking can involve high peak demand loads and
charges if conventional refrigeration equipment is employed. Cooling water in
an insulated container over a longer period, perhaps using a cooling tower,
can lower peaks and save money while cooling milk even more quickly than
conventional cooling techniques. Milk can be chilled using a double-wall
stainless steel heat exchanger whose secondary loop accesses the cooling
energy associated with the chilled water. Some systems also use a second heat
exchanger in the chilled water tank to minimize the risk of contamination and
lower pump power needs due to the resulting closed loop system.
Refrigeration
- Install floor insulation in coolers. The floors of some walk-in
refrigerators on farms are simply concrete slabs which are neither insulated
from the ground underneath nor around their edges. Retrofitting these with
floor insulation improves cooler efficiency.
- Use efficient lighting in refrigerators and save twice: this retrofit
lowers the electricity use for both lighting and cooling.
Anaerobic Digestion
- Feedlots, dairies, and other concentrated animal feeding operations that
collect manure at a centralized spot can install anaerobic digestion for
better waste management, eliminated odor problems, improved water quality,
and biogas power generation that can offset utility bills (or even provide
another source of revenue for the farm).
|
